Description by Lord Kapila of Adverse Fruitive Activities

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.30.1)

कपिल उवाच तस्यैतस्य जनो नूनं नायं वेदोरुविक्रमम् । काल्यमानोऽपि बलिनो वायोरिव घनावलिः ॥ 30.1 ॥

kapila uvāca tasyaitasya jano nūnaṁ nāyaṁ vedoru-vikramam kālyamāno ’pi balino vāyor iva ghanāvaliḥ

Kapila said: As a mass of clouds, though driven along by the powerful wind, does not know its strength, so a person, though swept along by this same time, does not know its great might.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.30.2)

यं यमर्थमुपादत्ते दुःखेन सुखहेतवे । तं तं धुनोति भगवान्पुमाञ्छोचति यत्कृते ॥ 30.2 ॥

yaṁ yam artham upādatte duḥkhena sukha-hetave taṁ taṁ dhunoti bhagavān pumāñ chocati yat-kṛte

Whatever object a man acquires with hardship, hoping for happiness, that very object Bhagavan destroys — and for its loss that same man grieves.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.30.3)

यदध्रुवस्य देहस्य सानुबन्धस्य दुर्मतिः । ध्रुवाणि मन्यते मोहाद् गृहक्षेत्रवसूनि च ॥ 30.3 ॥

yad adhruvasya dehasya sānubandhasya durmatiḥ dhruvāṇi manyate mohād gṛha-kṣetra-vasūni ca

Because this body is impermanent, along with all that is bound to it, the foolish man, out of delusion, comes to regard his house, his land and his wealth as permanent.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.30.4)

जन्तुर्वै भव एतस्मिन्यां यां योनिमनुव्रजेत् । तस्यां तस्यां स लभते निर्वृतिं न विरज्यते ॥ 30.4 ॥

jantur vai bhava etasmin yāṁ yāṁ yonim anuvrajet tasyāṁ tasyāṁ sa labhate nirvṛtiṁ na virajyate

In this world, whatever species the living being comes to inhabit, in that very species he finds his satisfaction, and does not turn away from it.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.30.5)

नरकस्थोऽपि देहं वै न पुमांस्त्यक्तुमिच्छति । नारक्यां निर्वृतौ सत्यां देवमायाविमोहितः ॥ 30.5 ॥

naraka-stho ’pi dehaṁ vai na pumāṁs tyaktum icchati nārakyāṁ nirvṛtau satyāṁ deva-māyā-vimohitaḥ

Even while lodged in hell, a man does not wish to give up his body, for, deluded by the Lord's illusory power, he finds satisfaction even in that hellish enjoyment.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.30.6)

आत्मजायासुतागारपशुद्रविणबन्धुषु । निरूढमूलहृदय आत्मानं बहु मन्यते ॥ 30.6 ॥

ātma-jāyā-sutāgāra- paśu-draviṇa-bandhuṣu nirūḍha-mūla-hṛdaya ātmānaṁ bahu manyate

His heart taking deep root in body, wife, children, home, cattle, wealth and kinsmen, he comes to think very highly of himself.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.30.7)

सन्दह्यमानसर्वाङ्ग एषामुद्वहनाधिना । करोत्यविरतं मूढो दुरितानि दुराशयः ॥ 30.7 ॥

sandahyamāna-sarvāṅga eṣām udvahanādhinā karoty avirataṁ mūḍho duritāni durāśayaḥ

With every limb of his body burning from the anxiety of maintaining these, that evil-minded fool goes on ceaselessly committing sinful acts.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.30.8)

आक्षिप्तात्मेन्द्रियः स्त्रीणामसतीनां च मायया । रहो रचितयालापैः शिशूनां कलभाषिणाम् ॥ 30.8 ॥

ākṣiptātmendriyaḥ strīṇām asatīnāṁ ca māyayā raho racitayālāpaiḥ śiśūnāṁ kala-bhāṣiṇām

His heart and senses stolen away by the wiles of deceitful women, he loses himself in solitary talk with them, and in the prattling words of babbling children.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.30.9)

गृहेषु कूटधर्मेषु दुःखतन्त्रेष्वतन्द्रितः । कुर्वन्दुःखप्रतीकारं सुखवन्मन्यते गृही ॥ 30.9 ॥

gṛheṣu kūṭa-dharmeṣu duḥkha-tantreṣv atandritaḥ kurvan duḥkha-pratīkāraṁ sukhavan manyate gṛhī

Ever alert within a household life bound up with deceit and strung with sorrows, merely counteracting one misery after another, the householder takes this itself for happiness.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.30.10)

अर्थैरापादितैर्गुर्व्या हिंसयेतस्ततश्च तान् । पुष्णाति येषां पोषेण शेषभुग्यात्यधः स्वयम् ॥ 30.10 ॥

arthair āpāditair gurvyā hiṁsayetas-tataś ca tān puṣṇāti yeṣāṁ poṣeṇa śeṣa-bhug yāty adhaḥ svayam

With wealth secured by great violence here and there, he nourishes them; yet he himself eats only the leftovers, while it is for their sake, whom he thus maintains, that he himself sinks downward.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.30.11)

वार्तायां लुप्यमानायामारब्धायां पुनः पुनः । लोभाभिभूतो निःसत्त्वः परार्थे कुरुते स्पृहाम् ॥ 30.11 ॥

vārtāyāṁ lupyamānāyām ārabdhāyāṁ punaḥ punaḥ lobhābhibhūto niḥsattvaḥ parārthe kurute spṛhām

When his livelihood, taken up again and again, keeps failing, then, overcome by greed and drained of strength, he comes to covet even the wealth of others.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.30.12)

कुटुम्बभरणाकल्पो मन्दभाग्यो वृथोद्यमः । श्रिया विहीनः कृपणो ध्यायञ्छ्वसिति मूढधीः ॥ 30.12 ॥

kuṭumba-bharaṇākalpo manda-bhāgyo vṛthodyamaḥ śriyā vihīnaḥ kṛpaṇo dhyāyañ chvasiti mūḍha-dhīḥ

Unable to maintain his family, ill-fortuned, his efforts fruitless, bereft of prosperity, wretched, the bewildered man broods and heaves long sighs.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.30.13)

एवं स्वभरणाकल्पं तत्कलत्रादयस्तथा । नाद्रियन्ते यथापूर्वं कीनाशा इव गोजरम् ॥ 30.13 ॥

evaṁ sva-bharaṇākalpaṁ tat-kalatrādayas tathā nādriyante yathā pūrvaṁ kīnāśā iva go-jaram

When he thus becomes unable even to support himself, his wife and the rest no longer regard him as before — just as stingy farmers no longer regard an ox grown old.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.30.14)

तत्राप्यजातनिर्वेदो भ्रियमाणः स्वयम्भृतैः । जरयोपात्तवैरूप्यो मरणाभिमुखो गृहे ॥ 30.14 ॥

tatrāpy ajāta-nirvedo bhriyamāṇaḥ svayam bhṛtaiḥ jarayopātta-vairūpyo maraṇābhimukho gṛhe

Even then no detachment arises in him. Now maintained by those he once maintained, disfigured by old age, he lies at home facing death.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.30.15)

आस्तेऽवमत्योपन्यस्तं गृहपाल इवाहरन् । आमयाव्यप्रदीप्ताग्निरल्पाहारोऽल्पचेष्टितः ॥ 30.15 ॥

āste ’vamatyopanyastaṁ gṛha-pāla ivāharan āmayāvy apradīptāgnir alpāhāro ’lpa-ceṣṭitaḥ

He lies there like a household dog, accepting whatever is carelessly tossed to him; sickly, his digestive fire dim, eating little, hardly able to stir.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.30.16)

वायुनोत्क्रमतोत्तारः कफसंरुद्धनाडिकः । कासश्वासकृतायासः कण्ठे घुरघुरायते ॥ 30.16 ॥

vāyunotkramatottāraḥ kapha-saṁruddha-nāḍikaḥ kāsa-śvāsa-kṛtāyāsaḥ kaṇṭhe ghura-ghurāyate

His eyes bulge, pressed by the [rising] breath; his windpipe grows choked with phlegm; coughing and gasping wrack him, and his throat rattles with a ghura-ghura sound.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.30.17)

शयानः परिशोचद्भिः परिवीतः स्वबन्धुभिः । वाच्यमानोऽपि न ब्रूते कालपाशवशं गतः ॥ 30.17 ॥

śayānaḥ pariśocadbhiḥ parivītaḥ sva-bandhubhiḥ vācyamāno ’pi na brūte kāla-pāśa-vaśaṁ gataḥ

Surrounded by his own grieving kinsmen, he lies there; and though urged to speak, caught fast in the noose of time, he can utter nothing.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.30.18)

एवं कुटुम्बभरणे व्यापृतात्माजितेन्द्रियः । म्रियते रुदतां स्वानामुरुवेदनयास्तधीः ॥ 30.18 ॥

evaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇe vyāpṛtātmājitendriyaḥ mriyate rudatāṁ svānām uru-vedanayāsta-dhīḥ

Thus engrossed in maintaining his family, his senses never conquered, that man dies — seeing his own kin weeping around him, in the grip of great agony, his consciousness overwhelmed.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.30.19)

यमदूतौ तदा प्राप्तौ भीमौ सरभसेक्षणौ । स दृष्ट्वा त्रस्तहृदयः शकृन्मूत्रं विमुञ्चति ॥ 30.19 ॥

yama-dūtau tadā prāptau bhīmau sarabhasekṣaṇau sa dṛṣṭvā trasta-hṛdayaḥ śakṛn-mūtraṁ vimuñcati

At that moment the two terrible messengers of Yama appear before him, their eyes ablaze with fury; seeing them, his heart struck with terror, he loses control of bowel and bladder.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.30.20)

यातनादेह आवृत्य पाशैर्बद्ध्वा गले बलात् । नयतो दीर्घमध्वानं दण्ड्यं राजभटा यथा ॥ 30.20 ॥

yātanā-deha āvṛtya pāśair baddhvā gale balāt nayato dīrgham adhvānaṁ daṇḍyaṁ rāja-bhaṭā yathā

As the king's soldiers seize a criminal and lead him off for punishment, so they wrap his tormented body, bind his neck fast with ropes, and lead him upon a long, long road.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.30.21)

तयोर्निर्भिन्नहृदयस्तर्जनैर्जातवेपथुः । पथि श्वभिर्भक्ष्यमाण आर्तोऽघं स्वमनुस्मरन् ॥ 30.21 ॥

tayor nirbhinna-hṛdayas tarjanair jāta-vepathuḥ pathi śvabhir bhakṣyamāṇa ārto ’ghaṁ svam anusmaran

Torn apart in heart by their threats, he trembles all over; bitten by dogs along the way, and recalling his own sins, he is overwhelmed with anguish.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.30.22)

क्षुत्तृट्परीतोऽर्कदवानलानिलैः सन्तप्यमानः पथि तप्तवालुके । कृच्छ्रेण पृष्ठे कशया च ताडितश् चलत्यशक्तोऽपि निराश्रमोदके ॥ 30.22 ॥

kṣut-tṛṭ-parīto ’rka-davānalānilaiḥ santapyamānaḥ pathi tapta-vāluke kṛcchreṇa pṛṣṭhe kaśayā ca tāḍitaś calaty aśakto ’pi nirāśramodake

Beset by hunger and thirst, scorched by sun, forest-fire and hot winds, he moves along that road of burning sand, without shelter or water, driven forward by cruel lashes on his back, even though he can barely walk.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.30.23)

तत्र तत्र पतञ्छ्रान्तो मूर्च्छितः पुनरुत्थितः । पथा पापीयसा नीतस्तरसा यमसादनम् ॥ 30.23 ॥

tatra tatra patañ chrānto mūrcchitaḥ punar utthitaḥ pathā pāpīyasā nītas tarasā yama-sādanam

Falling here and there in exhaustion, fainting, and made to rise again — by that most wretched road he is swiftly brought to the abode of Yamaraja.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.30.24)

योजनानां सहस्राणि नवतिं नव चाध्वनः । त्रिभिर्मुहूर्तैर्द्वाभ्यां वा नीतः प्राप्नोति यातनाः ॥ 30.24 ॥

yojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi navatiṁ nava cādhvanaḥ tribhir muhūrtair dvābhyāṁ vā nītaḥ prāpnoti yātanāḥ

That distance of ninety-nine thousand yojanas is covered in but two or three muhurtas, and then he arrives at [his allotted] torments.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.30.25)

आदीपनं स्वगात्राणां वेष्टयित्वोल्मुकादिभिः । आत्ममांसादनं क्वापि स्वकृत्तं परतोऽपि वा ॥ 30.25 ॥

ādīpanaṁ sva-gātrāṇāṁ veṣṭayitvolmukādibhiḥ ātma-māṁsādanaṁ kvāpi sva-kṛttaṁ parato ’pi vā

Encircled with burning brands and the like, his own limbs are set alight, and in some cases he is made to eat his own flesh, or it is fed to him by others.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.30.26)

जीवतश्चान्त्राभ्युद्धारः श्वगृध्रैर्यमसादने । सर्पवृश्चिकदंशाद्यैर्दशद्भिश्चात्मवैशसम् ॥ 30.26 ॥

jīvataś cāntrābhyuddhāraḥ śva-gṛdhrair yama-sādane sarpa-vṛścika-daṁśādyair daśadbhiś cātma-vaiśasam

In Yama's abode, while he is yet alive, dogs and vultures drag out his entrails, and serpents, scorpions, gnats and other biting creatures torment him.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.30.27)

कृन्तनं चावयवशो गजादिभ्यो भिदापनम् पातनं गिरिशृङ्गेभ्यो रोधनं चाम्बुगर्तयोः ॥ 30.27 ॥

kṛntanaṁ cāvayavaśo gajādibhyo bhidāpanam pātanaṁ giri-śṛṅgebhyo rodhanaṁ cāmbu-gartayoḥ

His limbs are cut off piece by piece and torn asunder by elephants and the like; he is hurled down from mountain peaks, and shut up in water or in a cave.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.30.28)

यास्तामिस्रान्धतामिस्रा रौरवाद्याश्च यातनाः । भुङ्क्ते नरो वा नारी वा मिथः सङ्गेन निर्मिताः ॥ 30.28 ॥

yās tāmisrāndha-tāmisrā rauravādyāś ca yātanāḥ bhuṅkte naro vā nārī vā mithaḥ saṅgena nirmitāḥ

Those torments — Tamisra, Andhatamisra, Raurava and the rest — born of illicit mutual union, both man and woman come to undergo.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.30.29)

अत्रैव नरकः स्वर्ग इति मातः प्रचक्षते । या यातना वै नारक्यस्ता इहाप्युपलक्षिताः ॥ 30.29 ॥

atraiva narakaḥ svarga iti mātaḥ pracakṣate yā yātanā vai nārakyas tā ihāpy upalakṣitāḥ

O mother, it is said that even here, in this very world, hell and heaven exist, for those same hellish torments are seen, in their measure, here as well.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.30.30)

एवं कुटुम्बं बिभ्राण उदरम्भर एव वा । विसृज्येहोभयं प्रेत्य भुङ्क्ते तत्फलमीदृशम् ॥ 30.30 ॥

evaṁ kuṭumbaṁ bibhrāṇa udaram bhara eva vā visṛjyehobhayaṁ pretya bhuṅkte tat-phalam īdṛśam

Thus the man who maintained his family, or merely his own belly, having left both behind in this world, undergoes after death a fruit just such as this.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.30.31)

एकः प्रपद्यते ध्वान्तं हित्वेदं स्वकलेवरम् । कुशलेतरपाथेयो भूतद्रोहेण यद्भृतम् ॥ 30.31 ॥

ekaḥ prapadyate dhvāntaṁ hitvedaṁ sva-kalevaram kuśaletara-pātheyo bhūta-droheṇa yad bhṛtam

Alone he enters that darkness, having left this body of his behind, his only provision for the journey being that ill-gotten wealth earned through injury to other beings.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.30.32)

दैवेनासादितं तस्य शमलं निरये पुमान् । भुङ्क्ते कुटुम्बपोषस्य हृतवित्त इवातुरः ॥ 30.32 ॥

daivenāsāditaṁ tasya śamalaṁ niraye pumān bhuṅkte kuṭumba-poṣasya hṛta-vitta ivāturaḥ

That sinful residue, apportioned to him by providence, the man undergoes in hell, suffering like one who has lost his wealth and grieves over it, still bound to those he maintained.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.30.33)

केवलेन ह्यधर्मेण कुटुम्बभरणोत्सुकः । याति जीवोऽन्धतामिस्रं चरमं तमसः पदम् ॥ 30.33 ॥

kevalena hy adharmeṇa kuṭumba-bharaṇotsukaḥ yāti jīvo ’ndha-tāmisraṁ caramaṁ tamasaḥ padam

Therefore the man who is bent on maintaining his family purely through unrighteous means goes to Andhatamisra, the farthest reach of that darkness.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.3.30.34)

अधस्तान्नरलोकस्य यावतीर्यातनादयः । क्रमशः समनुक्रम्य पुनरत्राव्रजेच्छुचिः ॥ 30.34 ॥

adhastān nara-lokasya yāvatīr yātanādayaḥ kramaśaḥ samanukramya punar atrāvrajec chuciḥ

Having passed, in due order, through all the torments that lie below the level of human birth, he returns once more, now purified, to this world.